Very timely question - I had planned to ask the same today. My feet are the bottleneck right now, so I think Hokas will be worth trying.

Let me muddy the water more Boulder Running Company has a limited number of men's Rapa Nui which won't be released in the US until mid-January , for sale now .

I like the Stinson Evo better than the Mafate  and will try the Rapa Nui when they have them here for women

I've got about 100mi over the last 6 months or so with Stinson Evos. There is some wear on the bottom, but I also found them hot in the summer - both because of the upper as well as foot movement in them. I couldn't get my foot in the next size smaller because of the speed lace shortness. Mafate 2 was waaay too stiff in the sole, and squishy inside. My heel popped out on hills. They added some additional material in later Mafates to keep people's feet in them. They got returned.  Saucony Xodus 3 has worked much better for me, and I've got over 1000 miles spread across 3 pairs of those in the last year.

That said, as I was crashing down the last of 3500ft of downhill in a trail/road marathon, I was really wondering how the Hokas would do. The Xodus were not absorbing anything on the rough asphalt. But the Hokas just haven't worked out that well for me in general. I need to heel strike in them; otherwise my forefoot is too unstable in the marshmallow cushion. The upper is too rigid to snug down tightly.

I am curious how the Kailuas fit and work since they aren't supposed to be as marshmallowy as some of the earlier models.

I love my Mafates. They have over 1300 miles on them and the lining in the upper is bad and the outer sole is shot, the midsole is still decent. They will be retired shortly. It was lovely running on extremely rocky terrain with them, they simply absorbed all the sharp edges. Unfortunately the treat was a little too soft and tore quickly on that terrain. They were the first generation Mafates, hopefully the newer ones will retain the plushness while having a more durable tread. I credit these with helping me to avoid rolling a ankle. I plan on getting a new pair this winter.

My Bondi's are great for the road and moderately technical trails. They performed well at blues cruise. I've not used them much on the extremely technical trails, but the little that I did I think they would do OK. When these are worn out I will buy another pair.

Stinson EVO Trail- These are a different story for me. I don't really like them. The outer sole/tread seems to be too hard. I slide around too much on wet rocks where I had no real problems with the Mafates and Bondis. Footing just doesn't seem that good even on asphalt that has some moss growing on it. The lateral support seems to be lacking as well. For some reason it felt as if my feet were going to slide off the side of the shoe. I just don't like the way it performs overall. They will be relegated to the road for mostly dry days.

The speed laces totally suck in my opinion. They came with the Stinsons and I changed them after the 3rd run. That helped some with the lateral support issues but not enough to improve my opinion of the Stinsons.

It sounds like Hoka is bringing out a lot of new models. I hope they don't mess up the whole lineup.

Also remember, Jame, that the Runners Sole in Chambersburg is now stocking Hokas.

To clarify, the Stinsons come with speed laces. My intention had been to try them on, find a size that works, then remove the speed laces. Most of my shoes are 9-9.5, with the Xodus that's working well a 9.5. Mafate 2 (mail order from Zappos since LRS didn't carry that model) in a 9 was too large and stiff, and heel popped out. The heel popping out of the shoe was a known issue with that model and Hoka was going to fix it in July (email from company spring 2013). In the meantime, they suggested the Stinson Evo in a 8.5 and using regular laces so I could lock the heel in like I do on all my shoes. (With speed laces that option isn't there.)

The Stinson Evo 8.5 (from LRS, 50 mi away)) felt roomy and thought I'd try an 8 - 1.5 sizes smaller than what I'm wearing. But when I went to try on an 8, the speed laces were so short, I couldn't get my foot in. The sales person noticed the lace shortness before I even tried to put my foot in. I'm not sure they would allow me to cut the speed laces to try the shoes unless I actually bought them, but I didn't ask.

Yea, I agree speed laces only work for some people, and definitely not for those that lock their heel down. And when you can't get the shoe on to try for size, that's a bigger problem.